All the King's Horses: Side Story: Kentucky Derby
by Stephen Ratliff
Summary: It's time for the run for the Roses... and this side story.


Title: Kentucky Derby  
Author: Stephen Ratliff (sratliff@runet.edu)  
Series: TNG, Marrissa Stories,  
Rating: [G]  
Codes: n/a  
Part: REV 1/1  
  
Summary:  
In a side-story to All the King's Horses, we hear about the  
Kentucky Derby in 2371. Isabelle and Rene Picard ride the horses  
from Stargazer Stables in the 497th run for the roses.  
  
Welcome to Churchill Downs, I'm Don McKay... Today well be  
bringing you the 497th running of the Roses, the Kentucky Derby.   
There are many stories in Today's Kentucky Derby, we'll try to  
tell them all.  
Today's field includes two rookie jockeys, for the first  
time in five years. Ambassador Spock enters his seventieth  
entry, extending his record. We've got both Klingon and Vulcan  
jockeys once again this year, and we have a filly in the field.  
  
We'll begin with our two rookie jockeys. Rene Picard and  
Isabelle Boucher both ride for Stargazer Stables. For Rene, it's  
a one year job, he's been accepted to Star Fleet Academy. For  
Isabelle, it's her lifetime goal.   
Rene Picard grew up in France, the son of a noted wine  
maker, and nephew of the Captain of the Enterprise. His  
involvement in horse racing began as a part time job at nearby  
Stargazer Stables. His father, Robert Picard, suggested it in an  
attempt to steer Rene away from following in his uncle's  
footsteps. It did not stop him from applying to the Academy, but  
it did spark a new interest in the young boy, displacing some of  
his Star Fleet posters with horse ones. Last Fall, Stargazer  
Stables needed a new jockey. Rene tried out for the position,  
and having an infinity with Warp Speed, got one of the positions.   
He's won four times on Warp Speed, and placed four times as well.  
Isabelle Boucher was Rene's next door neighbor. While  
Rene's interest may be a passing interest, horses are her life.   
She convinced her older brother to apply for a job with her at  
the stables, allowing her to work there earlier than her father  
would allow her to do alone. When Stargazer Stables bought Lady  
Stargazer, she developed an immediate link with the horse. She's  
won and placed as many time as Warp Speed. Her first win, and  
first race, the Star Fleet Invitational Two Year-old Race,  
shocked the horse world when Lady Stargazer and Warp Speed opened  
a four length lead on the rest of the field. They are definite  
contenders in today's field.  
  
The favorite in the field is Prime Directive. He has four  
wins in four starts, but has never faced Warp Speed or Lady  
Stargazer. He's won convincingly every time, with leads of two  
to four lengths.  
  
Another story is Sirvok aboard Quarterdeck Breed from Kirk  
Stables. Sirvok won last year's Belmont Stakes, denying Insignia  
the Triple Crown, only to break his leg getting off his horse.   
This is his second start this year. He won the Arkansas Derby  
aboard Quarterdeck Breed.   
Sirvok is the first and only Vulcan jockey to race in the  
Triple Crown. He's never won the Derby, but perhaps that could  
change today.  
  
Our other alien entry today, is Code of Honor, owned by the  
Klingon Empire. Since Ambassador Kang got interested in horse  
racing back in the early part of this century, the Klingons have  
fielded a derby horse just about every year. Their jockey,  
Korrath, is the second of his line to fill that position. He is  
the only derby winning jockey in today's field, having four wins  
in the last two years. To those of you expecting a big Klingon,  
look again. The Klingon Ambassador conducted a Empire wide  
search to find a Klingon warrior able to met the weight  
requirements. Korrath only weighs 98 pounds.  
  
Then there are the traditional entries. From the Stars, the  
Calumet Farm entry is a descendant of such Derby winning  
pedigrees as Secretariat and Spectacular Bid. However the colt  
has no wins.  
  
Romulan Dawn from Silicon Stables is from a young upstart  
stable, it's their first entry in the Derby. Little is expect  
from the horse, which does have two wins. However they were on  
muddy tracks, at distances under a mile. Today the track is  
fast, and the distance is a mile and a quarter.  
  
Viper from Greenhill Farm was very impressive in morning  
practice, but there is some concern that he may have been over  
worked.  
  
Harriman's Redemption is a mid-range entry, with just one  
win. Although the 50-1 odds don't give much hope to jockey Tod  
Wels's chance of getting his first Derby win in,   
Kirk's Bane from Styles Stables, has better odds, but is not  
considered a serious contender due to his poor performances in  
the last two months.  
Vengeful Return, an early favorite, has been pulled from the  
field this morning. The reasons have not been stated, but source  
states that the colt is running a fever.  
  
This is the youngest field of jockeys in a hundred years,  
mainly due to the sixteen year olds, Rene Picard and Isabelle  
Boucher.   
A filly has never won the Triple Crown, but the Derby has  
been won by a filly twenty times. A female jockey however has  
never won the race. Can Lady Stargazer over come history? We  
will find out today.  
  
The call to post has begun. In the post position, is From  
the Stars from Calumet Farm, No wins in five starts. Jockey Ryan  
James is a five year veteran.  
In the second gate is Quarterdeck Breed. He has one win in  
six starts. Jockey Sirvok is wearing the black silks with the  
gold old Star Fleet Insignia on it form Kirk Stables.  
In gate three is Warp Speed. He has won four of his last  
eight. Rene Picard starts his first derby in the red with a  
black strip silks of Stargazer Stables.  
Romulan Dawn is in gate four. He has two wins in seven  
starts. Neale Davidson wears the Green and Silver of Silicon  
Stables,  
Viper is in gate five. He has three wins in eight starts.   
Timothy Epperly is in his rookie derby wears the dark green and  
light blue of Green Hill Farm.  
Lady Stargazer from Stargazer Stables is in the sixth gate.  
She has four wins in eight starts and is the only filly in the  
field. Her jockey, Isabelle Boucher, is also a rookie.  
In the seventh gate is Code of Honor owned by the Klingon  
Ambassador. Code of Honor has two wins in four starts. His  
jockey, wearing the silver shirt with red and yellow Klingon  
Insignia, Korrath, is a fifteen year veteran."  
Gate eight holds Prime Directive . He has four wins in four  
starts. Jockey Joe Young is a five year veteran. He wears the  
white and red of Kansas State Farm.  
Harriman's Redemption, ridden by Tod Wels, is in gate nine.   
He has a win in five starts. His jockey wears the red and gold of  
the Star Fleet Security Society.  
Kirk's Bane is in the tenth gate. Mark Green has ridden him  
to three wins in five starts. He wears the black and white of  
Styles Stables.  
They're all in the gates now, and the starter's gun  
sounds...  
  
And they are off. Warp Speed leads out of the gate with  
Quarterdeck close behind. At the quarter pole, Warp Speed leads  
with Romulan Dawn close behind. Viper has failed to exit the  
gate. Lady Stargazer is coming on strong. Into the turn Warp  
Speed leads with a battle for second shaping up between  
Quarterdeck, Romulan, and Lady. On the as they come down the  
backstretch, Lady Stargazer pulls ahead of Romulan and  
Quarterdeck, who continue to fight it out for third. Code of  
Honor holds fifth with Directive, Harriman, and Kirk's fighting  
for sixth. Lady Stargazer pulls along side Warp Speed as they  
enter the final turn. Neck and neck they go around the turn. A  
length back, Romulan Dawn has a head on Quarterdeck Breed. Down  
the stretch they come. Lady and Warp are battling in out for the  
lead, as they approach the wire. As they cross the line, I can  
not tell who won. Romulan Dawn was a half a length back. The  
rest of the finish order is: Quarterdeck Breed, back a length;  
Code of Honor, two lengths; Kirk's Bane, two and a half;  
Harriman's Redemption, two and three quarters; Prime Directive,  
two and five eighths; From the Stars, at five lengths; Viper,  
failed to start.  
  
The race time was, 1:58.9, a record time. The judges are  
examining the photo finish between stable-mates, Lady Stargazer  
and Warp Speed. If this race is what we can expect in this  
year's triple crown, it's going to be a great year for horse  
racing. As we wait for the judges, lets see that finish again  
...  
It appears to be Lady Stargazer, by a nose, but the judges  
still haven't announced the winner yet. Lady Stargazer and Warp  
Speed are making another lap, cooling off, next to each other.   
Their jockeys apparently are discussing the race. A cheer goes  
up in the crowd as the official results appear on the board.   
Lady Stargazer wins the Kentucky Derby with an official time of  
1:58.9124. Warp Speed places and Romulan Dawn at show. The  
exacta pays 7.32 credits, trifecta pays 6.31 credits and win is  
10.38 credits  
  
Down in the winner's circle, we have Lady Stargazer, her  
jockey Isabelle Boucher, her trainer Mikey White, and  
representing her owners, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Princess  
Marrissa of Essex, the jockey for Warp Speed, Rene Picard.   
Presenting the trophy as the roses are draped over Lady  
Stargazer, Governor Anne-Marie Sutherland. Let's listen in ...  
  
"As Governor of the Great State of Kentucky, it is my  
pleasure to present this trophy for winning the 497th run for the  
roses, to the jockey, trainer, and owner's representative. Lady  
Stargazer today gave us a race to remember, beating the time of  
the great Secretariat."  
"On behalf of the owners, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and  
Lieutenant Marrissa Picard, I accept," Rene said.   
At that a reporter begins his interview, "Isabelle Boucher,  
this is your first derby race. How does it feel to win it?"  
"I'm not sure yet," Isabelle replied. "Ask me tomorrow when  
it's had time to sink in."  
"What was the race like?" the reporter asked.  
"Well the race began just like usual," Isabelle said. "Lady  
never wins the first quarter mile. But by the half-mile post, I  
was even with Rene. From that point on, Warp Speed was the only  
horse I saw. Warp Speed and Lady Stargazer have been at each  
other since that first test three quarter mile race when Marrissa  
rode her. Every race has ended the same, with those two at each  
other's throats."  
"What about your relationship with your fellow jockey?" the  
reporter asked.  
"We get along real well," Isabelle stated.  
"Any jealousy, Rene?" the reporter asked.  
"It could have gone either way, and I'm not as into horse  
racing as Belle," Rene said. "She deserves it more than I do."  
"Mikey White," the reporter said. "This is your second  
straight derby win. How does it feel to have a one two finish?"  
"It's hard to root for, Bob," Mikey said. "I've been  
entering these two horses in races together since they were two-  
year-olds. I never know which one is going to win, although I'm  
reasonably sure that one of them will bring it home."  
"Last year you described watching Insignia win as watching  
your engines while the Captain runs a speed test, waiting for the  
engine to blow up," the reporter said. "Is it still like that?"  
"Its a little easier, this year," Mikey stated. "Neither of  
them were the favorite, and they both ran like I expected."  
"How did you expect them to run," the reporter said.  
"Warp Speed always starts good," Mikey said. "He gets to  
the front fast and as long as someone is near to him, runs fast.   
Lady Stargazer's a different horse. She takes it easy that first  
quarter-mile, staying in the pack, then she runs to the front,  
clearing all opposition until she reaches Warp Speed. Then the  
two battle out till the finish. It's been that way since the  
first day Lady Stargazer came into the stable."  
"That's all from the winners of the 497th Kentucky Derby,"  
the reporter said. "Back to you Don."  
  
So Derby Day draws to a close here at Churchill Downs in  
Louisville Kentucky on Earth. We leave you with scene from this  
year's Kentucky Derby. As Lady Stargazer and Warp Speed come  
down the stretch and Lady claims her roses, for Federation  
Broadcast Network Sports, I'm Don McKay. See you at the  
Preakness.  



End file.
